Postbag: Pledges on wheelie bins

PUBLISHED: 08:11 05 January 2006 | UPDATED: 20:09 28 May 2010

There have been some questions raised by residents over the storage of wheeled bins and the cost of implementing the new waste collection scheme. We appreciate that wheeled bins will not be appropriate for every property. The experience of other councils

There have been some questions raised by residents over the storage of wheeled bins and the cost of implementing the new waste collection scheme.

We appreciate that wheeled bins will not be appropriate for every property.

The experience of other councils has shown that generally between 10-15% of properties are not suitable for wheeled bins, for various reasons. Where there is an identified problem we will be working with residents in the district to determine which properties are unsuited to wheeled bins and those residents that need assistance.

Only those properties with room for the bins will be issued with them, so that bins will not litter the streets and become an eyesore - in fact the district will look far smarter on collection day with wheeled bins than they do at the moment with plastic sacks on the pavements.

Regarding cost the Council is taking a pragmatic, long-term view. The collection costs will be slightly higher than at present, although we would not expect this to have a major impact on Council tax rates.

However, were we to do nothing our recycling rates will not improve, especially for biodegradable waste. This, in turn, will lead to heavy fines which will cost taxpayers more in the medium term. We want to avoid this prospect and take a proactive stance to enable our residents to recycle as much as possible and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.